The present disclosure relates to an information processing system, a communication terminal, an information processing unit and a program.
Communication terminals such as mobile phones are highly sophisticated today, and a user of a communication terminal can receive various serves by making a connection to a service provider unit such as a server that provides various services via a base station or the like, for example. Further, such a communication terminal enables indirect communication between the server and an information processing unit incapable of directly communicating with the server, such as a personal computer (PC) and a car navigation unit, by making a connection to the information processing unit.
In such circumstances, techniques of establishing indirect communication between the information processing unit and the service provider unit that provides services via the communication terminal have been developed. For example, a technique that connects a PC (information processing unit) and a mobile phone unit (communication terminal) to allow access to contents designed for mobile phone units (communication terminals) from the PC (information processing unit) via the mobile phone unit (communication terminal) is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-94111.
Further, a technique that enables communication with a specified communication target unit by selectively switching a plurality of different communication methods is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3671881, for example.
A user of a hitherto known information processing unit which employs the technique according to related art that establishes indirect communication between the information processing unit and the service provider unit via the communication terminal can receive services provided by the service provider unit using the information processing unit even when the information processing unit is incapable of directly communicating with the service provider unit. In a hitherto known information processing system to which the technique according to related art that establishes indirect communication between the information processing unit and the service provider unit via the communication terminal is applied, a series of processing steps related to services are performed by the known information processing unit in order to receive the services provided by the known service provider unit in the known information processing unit.
However, services provided generally are not always such that a series of processing steps related to the services can be performed by the known information processing unit as intended by the known information processing system. For example, the unit to perform processing can change as shown in the following processing (1) to (3).
(1) First purchase processing <Unit to perform processing: mobile phone (known communication terminal)>
A mobile phone (known communication terminal) makes a connection to a server (known service provider unit) and purchases map data.
(2) Connection processing <Unit to perform processing: mobile phone (known communication terminal)>
The mobile phone (known communication terminal) establishes a connection with a car navigation unit (known information processing unit). The mobile phone (known communication terminal) then transmits information related to the purchase processing in the processing (1) to the car navigation unit (known information processing unit).
(3) Second purchase processing <Unit to perform processing: car navigation unit (known information processing unit)>
The car navigation unit (known information processing unit) makes an indirect connection to the server (known service provider unit) via the mobile phone (known communication terminal) based on the information related to the purchase processing received in the processing (2). The car navigation unit (known information processing unit) then downloads the purchased map data based on the information related to the purchase processing received in the processing (2).
In the case where the unit to perform processing changes as shown in the processing (1) to (3), it is necessary for a user to have the known communication terminal or the known information processing unit carry out each processing (1) to (3) independently. Therefore, user-friendliness decreases significantly in the known information processing system where services for which the unit to perform processing changes as shown in (1) to (3) are provided.
The known information processing system to which the technique according to the related art that establishes indirect communication between an information processing unit and a service provider unit via a communication terminal is applied is compatible with the processing of the above step (3) only. Further, even if the technique that selectively switches among a plurality of different communication methods is further applied to the known information processing unit and the known communication terminal, it only improves the user-friendliness in the processing of the above step (2).
Accordingly, even with the use of the known information processing unit and the known communication terminal, it is difficult for a user to receive services provided by the service provider unit seamlessly using the information processing unit incapable of direct communication with the service provider unit that provide services. Therefore, there has been a demand for an information processing system that enables seamless reception of services provided by a service provider unit using an information processing unit incapable of direct communication with the service provider unit that provide services and thus improves user-friendliness.
In light of the foregoing, it is desirable to provide a novel and improved information processing system, a communication terminal, an information processing unit and a program that enable seamless reception of services provided by a service provider unit using an information processing unit indirectly communicating with the service provider unit via a communication terminal.